Hockey night in America on this Friday night will be all of the talk heading into the weekend as the surging New York Islanders take on the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Islanders-Blue Jackets prediction and pick will be revealed.
Currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak, the Islanders find themselves in the middle of a tight playoff race out east. Narrowly holding onto the top wild card spot by three points, New York is in desperation-mode to win as frequently possible down the stretch of the regular season to compete with the top teams in the league come postseason time.
Clearly, the Blue Jackets agony of their regular season can't end soon enough as Columbus has endured a painful campaign that has had them go 22-41-7 overall. Already eliminated from playoff contention, the Blue Jackets are at least coming off a 7-6 OT victory that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Here are the Islanders-Blue Jackets NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Islanders-Blue Jackets Odds
New York Islanders: -1.5 (-115)
Columbus Blue Jackets: +1.5 (-138)
Over: 6.5 (-110)
Under: 6.5 (-110)
How To Watch Islanders vs. Blue Jackets
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 ET/4:00 PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Islanders Could Cover The Spread
On paper, the Islanders are clearly the better squad in comparison to an underwhelming Blue Jackets crew, but it will end up being vital for New York to take care of the little things if they are going to secure a spread-covering victory.
First things first, the best part of the Islanders' game happens to be their ability as of late to go absolutely berserk in the scoring department. Alas, for a team that averages just a shade under three goals per contest at 2.99, the Islanders have seemingly found the gold at the end of the rainbow when it comes to their offense as they have scored a total of 20 goals in their last three games altogether.
Without a doubt, the biggest component for this recent offensive explosion has been thanks to the stupendous play of a balanced attack that has been hard to slow down. Above all else, if the Islanders are willing to make that extra pass to help their offense continue to flourish, then they should be in good shape by the time the final horn sounds.
Of course, even if the offense loses a step just slightly, New York will be in good hands with goalie Ilya Sorokin in net. Having started in New York's previous four games, Sorokin remains as one of the top goaltenders in the league and should no doubt provide his squad with some amazing play.
Why The Blue Jackets Could Cover The Spread
With nothing to play for other than pride, it should still be expected that Columbus will give all they have to hand New York what would be a devastating loss. Trailing by three goals the last time out on the ice and staging an epic come-from-behind victory with a final score of 7-6 over the Washington Capitals on the road, the Blue Jackets at least have some new-found momentum heading into this Friday evening contest.
Not only will Columbus be playing this one within the confines of their home arena, but the fact that they have the services of Johnny Gaudreau will prove to be a huge difference-maker. As a whole, Gaudreau is the type of player that can put an entire team on his back, and he has displayed exactly that so far this year. In his 68 games played during the 2022-2023 regular season, Gaudreau has tallied 48 assists to go along with 65 overall points and should present some issues for the Islanders thanks to his elite speed and heads up play when possessed with the puck.
Of course, this is a Blue Jackets crew that has found it hard to prevent the opposition from scoring goals at will, and based on how efficient New York has been as of late, Columbus' chances to cover the spread will either be do-or-die based on how well their goaltending ends up being on this Friday. After taking a glimpse upon the net-minders on this roster, the three that have received a multitude of the starts don't really jump out on paper, so it may be up to the Columbus defenseman to put their bodies on the line to disrupt and block shots while making life easier for whoever gets the nod in net.
Final Islanders-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick
Despite the fact that Columbus is coming off an impressive win, few teams around the league have enough firepower to slow down the Islanders and their dynamic offense at the moment. Side with New York's ability to cover the spread and you won't be disappointed.
Final Islanders-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick: Islanders -1.5 (-115)
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